Definition of a Brother
by fireborn012
Summary: Alright this is pre-Nightlife. Taken from the very beginning this is life when Cal was born up to moving around after he was kidnapped by the Auphe. It's in Niko's point of view and more directed towards his life and becoming the protective bro we love


Okay MY favorite character in the story isn't Cal...or Robin...or Delilah...or Promise...or George...it's Niko.

In fact when I happened upon Nightlife and brought it a friend of mine declared me Niko. Declared herself Cal and we all agreed another was Robin. There was no denying that. Later we deemed one of my best friends Promise. Obsessed we are with the book and I can say that because on most virtual role playing sites Cal and I have kept the Leandros nicknames in honor of the great series.

Yes I am well aware that I have just made myself a nerd in your eyes, but its the truth.

At least I didn't go as far as Cal and make a Nightlife Role playing site. *cough cough*

So as stated above I love Niko. Don't get me wrong Cal is great too. Awesome since of humor, but Niko just represents everything that you would want to be and strive for as a human being.

And that got me thinking. I decided to retell the story of the Leandros brothers starting in the trailer park with Sophia. And this time it's from the eyes of Niko Leandros. The story of child forced to become mother, father, teacher, warrior and brother in one precious moment.

This is my take on Niko Leandros.

(I hope Rob Thurman doesn't magically come through the computer and kill me....0_0)

**Story Rating:** M for child abuse, adult situations, etc. That'll be more specifics per chapter if I remember to do them.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Cal leandros or the series.

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Chapter One

Life is something that most people take for granted. Every human being on this planet gets to think for one second that they're immortal and forget about natural limits.

I never got that chance.

For the first three years of my life I learned fast. Clothing and feeding myself was something that I knew at the age of two and by two and a half I could create my own meals.

My mother Sophia wasn't the loving type. As far as I'm concerned she gave me the basics to survive. Being an only mother is difficult, I'm not saying that it's not, but she never tried. How I survived my first four years is unknown. I can't remember that far back and from what little I know it's best left a mystery.

In truth my life didn't begin until nine months after my mother's stomach began to grow.

One of my first memories was in a run down house with a basement. I was busy eating cereal for breakfast and watching cartoons until I heard a low scream.

I dropped my cereal in shock and glanced around with my grey eyes searching for the source of the sound. It came again and I forgot about cleaing the mess my curiousity getting the best of me.

Around three feet nine inches I walked towards the basement door and found it slighlty opened. The sounds of grunts and low screams echoed up the stairs and my hand trembled against the door knob.

I remembered that my mother had gone down their before Scooby Doo had started and the show was over twenty minutes ago. There was another strangled grunt and the swamp monster on Scooby Doo flashed through my mind. I grew anxious, breathing harder, and jumping from foot to foot.

I wasn't supposed to go into that room. How many times had momma hit me because I'd gone into the basement? My hand ran over a band aid covering my cheek. A mark from her ring. I pictured the monster hurting my mother. My childish fear of the unknown and unmistakable bond between a child and parent over road my fear of my mother. Hesitating I pushed open the door completely taking my first step into uncertainty. It was something that my four year old mind couldn't comprehend.

As I moved down the stairs the increasing volume of the noise made my hair stand on end. I closed my eyes trying to hide myself. If I couldn't see the monster than it couldn't see me. Feeling my way I walked carefully down the stairs until I reached the basement bottom.

"Momma?" My voice was soft and scared, but I got no answer. Momma didn't always like to answer me. The grunts continued and I felt for sure that I had wet myself. I hadn't used a diaper or pull ups for months. They were to expensive and it had taken me two years to learn how to use the potty. I just couldn't figure out when I had to go and sometimes I wasn't sure if I had gone at all. Momma was always furious with me and I learned control out of fear.

My bottom was wet and warm.

I was going to get a spanking for sure. The thought of her belt made my eyes water beneath my lids as if she'd already thrown me across her bed and yanked down my underwear.

I trembled at the thought as the grunts in the room increased. Somehow I had backed myself into a corner and was leaning against the wall hugging it for dear life. I recognized the scream when I heard it again. It was my mothers voice. I had been right she had been hurting.

"Momma?!" My voice was a near shriek itself, but I didn't hear her respond. It was getting harder to breath and my entire body shook. I was so scared, but I didn't expect any one to come and save me. No one ever did so I tried to control fear like that Shaggy and Scooby. They were scared too, but they always got over it.

I counted to ten, something that I had learned in four year old kindergarden last year and than opened my eyes. Momma was alone lying on the bed she'd placed in the basement with her legs on either side of the foot board spread apart. To my relief I didn't see a monster. There was no one in the basement but me and momma. That didn't stop something from being wrong.

Her hair was in her face and she was propped up by pillows. The face that I had known looked older as she clenched her jaw tight moving her torso up and down still grunting. The blankets between her legs were soaked in something red.

Blood.

My grey eyes couldn't tear themselves away from the sight as I watched the blood continue to grow and an odd smell hit my nostrils. Blood always made my stomach do flip flops like it had butterflies in it. Whenever momma would hit me and I bled I couldn't look at it in fear of falling asleep on my feet. Momma used to laugh at me when I woke up thinking it was funny, but my head just hurt a lot.

The stain on the sheets began to grow as her pants increased. Moments later was when I saw it.

A red bundle fell onto the blankets between her legs. I caught a glimpse of it from underneath her rasied right leg and night gown that she still wore. There was a cry in the room and my mothers body went limp as she stared at the ceiling. I jumped at the first sound that the thing made before blinking over and over. I'd heard something like it before.

The sound I was sure was a baby. Momma had stopped grunting and making noises as she caught her breath and a baby wasn't all that scary.

I came of the wall and came closer to the bed. Momma sat up and reached on the other side of her, I couldn't see what she was doing and pulled out a pair of scissors and a piece of yarn. She was pale and full of sweat as she leaned over and cut the umbilical cord and tied the end of it with the piece of yarn. She moved back over and picked up a small blanket picking up the bundle between her wrapping it in the soft cloth. By this time I had somehow made it to her side though I don't remember moving.

"You've been wanting a pet," her voice was hoarse and harsh. I jumped up looking at her and immedately started to tell her my excuse for coming down here. She didn't give me a chance to open my mouth. "Here you are."

And just like that she opened my arms and placed the baby in them. She moved up on the bed wincing at some pain and tried to swing her legs over. "Your baby brother."

I heard about this before. Kids on the block, on t.v., and in school had brothers and sisters. Siblings is what Mrs. Lynn, my first teacher, told us they were called.

I'd always wanted one.

The baby didn't move a lot and was small. I stared at it and watched as the pink skin shifted slighty before it cried out again. My mother groaned and Iooked up to see if she was okay. I recognized that look in her eye and the set of her brow. It meant that she was annoyed.

She glanced at the bundle. "Clean it up and keep it quiet." She pushed herself on to her legs and leaned against the wall for support. "I'm going to take a shower and go to bed." The front of night gown was covered in red.

I knew better than to stop her as she moved up the stair case slowly. I stared at the pink and puffy skin. I had a baby brother. An unmistakable fear hit my gut and I jerked towards my mother. My mouth reacted before I could think.

"What do I call him?"

She stopped and I felt for sure she was going to command me to her and slap me hard. She didn't. Instead she stared at me for a moment and than my brother before a smile that sent of shiver down my spine crossed her lips.

"Caliban. His name is Caliban Leandros." Her voice was low and whimsical as she turned and continued up the stairs. I let her go.

I stared at my baby brother and smiled. The name had a nice ring to it.

The baby blinked up at me for a second and I caught sight of a small touch of grey. "Hi Caliban. I'm Niko your big brother." My voice was full of pride. Now I could brag to the other kids.

I was a big brother too.

Careful I made my way up the stairs. It was hard and I walked extra carefully so I wouldn't slip. When I got upstairs Caliban started to cry again and I heard my mother from the bathroom.

"Shut that damn thing up!"

Startled I started to talk to my baby brother. I told him that momma wanted him to be quiet and that he should or he would get a spanking and that wasn't fun, but he didn't understand. I heard my momma open the bathroom door and fear pushed me outside.

I couldn't let her hurt Caliban. I would be a bad brother if I let him get a spanking.

I spent the next hour sitting outside walking around and trying to get him to be quiet. Something was wrong with him because he wouldn't listen to me. My arms hurt and my ears felt like they were going to bleed. Every now and then he would stop and sleep, but than he would start moving again and scrunch up his nose. His skin was pokkadotted with the dried blood.

He smelled too.

He needed a bath, but I couldn't take him inside and give him one.

I sat down on our lawn and looked out at the other houses. This wasn't a good neighborhood by any means, but momma had decided to move us into a house and she did it. Business must have finally been good to momma like she said it would because now we had a house and her medicine that came out of bottles lined the cabinets.

I heard the sound of laughter and glanced up at an old woman's house. She lived across the street and I'd seen her talking to momma once. She had five kids and an idea came to me.

Momma wasn't in the mood to help, but she might know what was wrong with my brother. I cradled Caliban close and looked both ways before crossing the road like Mrs. Lynn said we should and knocked at her door.

A chubby girl a little older than me answered the door dressed in nothing but a pair of old pants. She blinked and made a funny face with her hair thrown here and there. I had to stop myself from laughing because Mrs. Lynn had said that it wasn't nice to laugh at people unless they were being funny on purpose and I could tell she wasn't because her eyes were crossed.

I tried to smile and held Caliban a little closer scared she might hurt him. "Hi."

She blinked at me before turning her head and walking away from the door. "Mom! Someones at the door!"

I heard her mom yell something back, but I couldn't understand it before the big woman was standing in front of me. She had the wildest black hair I'd ever saw unlike me who had blond. She blinked her brown eyes at me looking me up and down.

"What do you want?" Her voice was gruff and I was afraid she was going to be upset. Before I could answer her Caliban gave out a short cry. She blinked again and stared at the bundle in my arms. "Dear lord did she give birth already? And sent you here both hands begging huh? I knew that woman was nothing but trouble." She shook her head before turning around.

"Come in," her voice was still gruff and I let myself in following her. The house she lived in was just as plain as ours with pale walls and little furniture. I could hear laughter from above me. She had two stories. We went into a plain red kitchen and she told the girl I had seen earlier to "git and go on and play with your sisters."

When we were alone she turned on me and I fiddled with my feet. "Don't hold it like that boy," she sighed and came over to me. Grabbing my arms she sifted them around until one hand rested underneath the small body and the other under Caliban's head. "That's how you hold a baby. If you don't hold it like that he could die."

I knew what death meant and I swallowed hard nodding. I didn't want my brother to die.

"Now what do we got here," she reached over and pulled the blanket from his face. "Good grief he hasn't even been cleaned yet." Reaching she grabbed him from me before I could stop her. I was so scared that she was going to hurt him and so I grabbed her shirt.

"No."

She shook me off without a word and pulled out a small bowl filling it with water. I was so anxious that I watched silently unable to move as she pulled out a rag and washed his body.

"Be quiet and watch how I'm holding him." I did as she said and watched as she washed him. My brother was pale. Pale with grey eyes that opened and stared at me when she turned his body. When she finished washing him she bundled him back up in the blanket and handed him to me. I was careful to hold him right this time.

Moving over she grabbed several things from her shelf and put them on the table. It was baby formula and she showed me out to make a bottle while she made one herself. She lifted Caliban and me up like we weighed nothing and sat me down on the table showing me how to feed him.

I was scared as I touched the nipple to his lip, but his mouth opened and he sucked. I smiled and watched as he winked at me.

My brother was silly.

The woman contemplated me for a minute before grabbing an old looking book bag and started putting cans of the stuff she had used to make the bottle in it. She explained to me it was baby formula and told me how often I was supposed to fed him. Next she got out half a box of diapers and put them in the bag. She showed me how to put one on him before handing me the book bag on my back and sent me on my way back home with Caliban cradled in my hands.

There wasn't a baby bed in the house so I made one in my own room. I scrunched up a bunch of blankets and made a nest on my bed lying my brother in it. He had no clothes so I wrapped him in another blanket careful of the head like the lady had told me.

He was warm and had soft skin.

As he laid there beside me on the bed I made a promise to myself. said that promises were a big thing. She said that when you make a promise you have to keep it and do everything in your power to make sure that you do it.

I was a big brother now and as I heard my mother down the hall knock something down I made a promise.

"I promise that I'll be the best big brother out there. I won't let you get hurt and I'll protect you from everything." I pushed my finger into his small hand and giggled when he squeezed it back.

For the next year I watched Caliban's every move. I didn't go back to the woman across the street because something told me we weren't welcome. Her glances were enough.

I didn't go back to school, but I did find out there was a television show with new mommies and watched it. Caliban watched it with me too and I think he learned more than I did. When we weren't watching tv, I would feed him, put him to sleep and wash him. We still didn't have baby clothes like the women on tv so all Caliban had was the diapers that were to big for him and they didn't last long. When we ran out I made a diaper out of cloth like the woman on tv.

Momma and her friends that showed up during the day and late at night would laugh when they saw him before going to momma's room. I thought he looked okay in the washcloth diaper with clothes pins sticking out from the side. They were big and liked to poke my finger when I changed him, but I learned that it was easier to change him quickly when he pooped or peed because than he wouldn't cry or get red spots on his butt.

The hardest thing to do was keep him quiet and we often went on walks around the neighborhood during the day so he would sleep at night. Momma would scream and threaten us both with a spanking if he made a noise when she was sick or sleeping. I was so scared that I locked my door every night and threw away the key so she wouldn't be able to find it. Sometimes she would bang and scream at the door telling me to open it and saying all sorts of words that Mrs. Lynn said were bad. On those nights I sang and rocked Caliban in my arms trying to calm us both down. Luckily in the morning Momma would be sleeping and wouldn't remember a thing that had happened.

When I was alone without Caliban I used to walk during the night without a thought in the world, but something had changed and I was scared to do it with my baby brother. Suddenly the neighborhood seemed a whole lot more scarier than I thought it had been at first.

The second hardest thing was when I ran out of formula.

I always made a bottle ahead of time and put it in the back of the refrigerator because when Cailban wanted a bottle there was no time to make one before he started to cry really hard. My little brother had no patience.

So the day before I noticed that I didn't have enough for another bottle. Momma was in her room with her medicine and the door was closed so I didn't want to bother her. I thought about the woman across the street and took Caliban with me, but the kids in the yard spat on us. The eldest one which was a girl with thick black hair in a spotted t-shirt with holes threw rocks at me and told me to get away. The woman watched from her windows, but did nothing to help.

I knew there was no point in ever looking to her again. I would have to go to the store and get some formula for my brother. He was four months old and it was the only thing he would eat. When I laid my brother down for his nap I made an extra large nest on my bed to make sure he wouldn't fall off. I wouldn't be here to watch him as he slept like I usually would. I unlocked the window so I could get back in and locked our door so momma couldn't get to Caliban. Taking my money sock I made my way down the block to the nearest store. It took me half an hour, but I got there.

When I got to the store I found what I was looking for. It was a round tin bottle just like I had at home and I poured the money out of my sock in my hands. I collected the change when I cleaned up the house. Momma dropped some and so did some of her friends. Before Caliban came I would take it and maybe have enough for a candy bar, now I knew I'd have to let the candy bar go.

The problem came when I finished counting the money. Mrs. Lynn said I was a great learner and I was the only one in the class to figure out how to count money. Now it didn't seem like that trick would help me because I was still a dollar and forty cents short. As I stood there looking at the can I bit my lip wondering what I was going to do. It was the only thing that Caliban could eat because he didn't have any teeth.

I glanced at the older girl at the counter who was popping gum and reading a magazine. I was pretty sure she wouldn't help me if I asked. She had been really mean when I had come to the store before when Momma sent me or when I came for myself. That meant that I would have to steal it.

I puckered my lips and clenched my fists at my side. Stealing was wrong, but my little brother needed it. Didn't that make it all right? If you really needed it was it actually stealing if no one else was going to use it? I didn't think it was, but I didn't want to get caught either. Taking the tin down I hid it in the deep pocket of my jacket and walked towards the front desk. The girl didn't even look up at her magazine.

I was about to walk out of the door when a funny feeling hit my gut like I had done something wrong. Feeling gulity was what Mrs. Lynn called it. I decided that I didn't like the feeling so I picked up my pace.

"Hey kid you gonna buy something or what?"

The woman's voice caught me off guard and I turned to look at the red headed girl. She popped her gum at me and lowered her magazine. "You gonna buy candy or something?"

She stood up and picked up her scanner. I felt like she knew and was close to crying, but I needed this. I couldn't let her take my brother's food away. Nodding because I didn't trust my voice I walked up and picked up a milk chocolate bar and put it on the counter and paid for it. She didn't say anything else when I walked through the door.

I never wanted to steal again. When I got home I was going to see if Caliban could eat some of my food if I mushed it up real good to look like the stuff in baby cans.

Caliban really liked chocolate. From the day I got back from the store months ago with that chocolate bar and let him have a taste I knew I had found something he loved. He also liked mashed potatoes, mac n' cheese, and smashed peas. I thought the peas looked a little funny all pressed down like that, but he ate them well enough so I decided to give him some of my food and make the last can of baby formula last as long as possible. And he got chocolate on special occasions. Like his birthday that was last month. My baby brother was now one year old and was crawling everywhere. I had to follow him to make sure that he didn't get in any trouble. A baby was a big responsibility.

It was the day that I was feeding Caliban mashed potatoes as we both watched my favorite episode of Scooby Doo when Momma came through the door and announced that we were moving the first thing tomorrow. My brother cooed when Momma came through the door. He liked to do that a lot, but Momma only gave him a grunt and moved to the cabinet pulling out a bottle of her medicine.

Momma didn't mess with Caliban and left him all up to me. And though at times I was scared or tired I was glad that she had because that made my brother all mine. I didn't have to worry about sharing him with anyone. .

That's it for the first chapter. Now this will be a slow work in progress. Oh and for those of you who didn't know Rob Thurman is extending the series!!! Isn't that great?! The next book is Road Kill.

Please Read and Review!! ^^


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